european green crabs

Shellfish growers in Willapa Bay in southwest Washington, the self-styled "Oyster Capital of the World," are alarmed by an invasion of potentially destructive non-native European green crabs.

Agencies, tribes and groups across Washington state are working to limit the growth of European green crab populations. Scientists say the invasive species can consume shellfish and other native marine life, and destroy critical habitat.

New Oregon regulations allow recreational crabbers to catch triple the number of invasive green crabs from the state's bays and inlets. It’s part of a concerted effort to eradicate the invasive crustaceans — which are known to compete with native crabs for food.

An invasive European green crab was captured in Hood Canal, the farthest south the species has been found in the Salish Sea. The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife will increase trapping there to assess the scope of the green crab presence and try to locally eradicate the species.

State wildlife officials are requesting more than $8.5 million in emergency funding from the Legislature to boost the fight against invasive European green crabs. A new tool might make that more effective: environmental DNA.

Gov. Jay Inslee has issued an emergency order to address the exponential population growth of the invasive European green crab within the Lummi Nation’s Sea Pond, Makah Bay, Grays Harbor, and Willapa Bay.

European green crabs were found in Washington’s inland waters in 2016, prompting extensive monitoring. Now state officials say this destructive invasive…